Thought for the week - 14 April 2008

Rogation - Beating the Bounds

Rogation, the period from the sixth Sunday of Easter till Ascension Day (this year 27th to 30th April) historically was for two things.

• First it was a time to ask God's blessing on the growing crops - "rogation" comes from the Latin word "rogare" meaning to ask.
• Second it was a time to walk the boundaries of the village.

In a time before accurate maps, never mind  satellite navigation, it was important for people to know where the limit of their settlement was.  Within their community was safety. Outside was a place of danger and lawlessness and  "outlaws".

To help children learn the safe limits of their village they would be shown the boundary marker, and then rolled in a patch of brambles or nettles or beaten so they remembered where the boundaries were - that it was safe to go so far but no further. In time it was felt that this was somewhat barbaric and so instead of beating children the practice grew up of beating the boundary markers, hence "beating the bounds".

In our much more mobile society geographical limits are becoming less important, but behavioural limits remain a very live issue. What are the boundaries for embryo research, abortion, euthanasia, sexual behaviour, human consumption...? The list is almost endless and wherever one person or lobby group wants to place a limit another will want to stretch it.

What perhaps we need to be reminded of by the old festival of Rogation is that while we need boundaries they are not an end in themselves. They exist so that within the boundaries we may live together in community. And we need also to remember that Jesus taught us that there are only two limits or boundaries on our behaviour. We should be limited only by the command to love God and to love our neighbour.  

The Revd Robert Barlow

Chaplain for Agriculture and Rural Life